Deal Volume Plummets in 2008, Will Fall Further in ’09
View Count: 24

Thomson Reuters reports that global deal volume dropped by a full one-third in 2008, and is expected to fall further next year.

Total deal volume dropped about 32% to $2.89 trillion, the lowest annual number since 2005. Q4 numbers were even worse, with M&A volume dropping 44% globally over the last three months compared to 2007; US deal volume plummeted 55% in the same period.

Get JD Journal in Your Mail Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!

Hostile takeovers represented the only bright spot, something experts say is typical in down periods when companies that are still strong look to feast on the weak.

The highlight in this category, of course, was InBev’s $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch, a deal that helped JPMorgan Chase clinch the number one rank among financial advisors in European deals.

Paul Parker of global M&A at Barclays Capital told Reuters he expects deal volume to drop another 30 percent next year, to about $2 trillion.

Search in Archive

Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!

Career Resources: How to Look for a New Attorney Job While Keeping the One You Have

Many people say looking for work is a full-time job. Success requires mastering multiple matters – doing more than one task at a time, and doing them all well. In good times and lean times, a sound set of lawyer’s skills incorporates an affinity for project management. Thus, making the time for a quality job search need not, should not, […]